Chaminade College Preparatory School will raise their voices in harmony this holiday season for autism care and treatment.

Chaminade College Preparatory College in the Southern California town of West Hills, will host a “Share in the Holiday Spirit with the Voices of Chaminade Harmony Choir” on Saturday, December 19, 2009 at Temple Aliyah located at 6025 Valley Circle Boulevard in Woodland Hills, CA.

The concert will benefit Autism Care and Treatment (ACT-Today!), a non profit organization that provides access to treatment for children with autism. "Chaminade College Preparatory encourages students and clubs to actively, "give back," as part of our mission statement. Harmony Chorus is delighted to be able to support the autism fund raiser by adding our voices to this wonderful cause,” says Choir Director Paulette Mann.

"We are always thrilled when people use their talents to help families with autism,” says ACT Today!’s Executive Director Nancy Alspaugh-Jackson. “The students at Chaminade are amazing and we are grateful to be on the receiving end of their generous holiday spirit as they raise funds for ACT Today!.”

A suggested donation of $10 will be collected at the door. The concert begins at 6pm and is followed by a reception from 7pm – 9pm.

For more information about the concert and to RSVP, contact ACT Today! at 818.705.1625 or email at info@act-today.org.

About Chaminade College Preparatory School:The Chaminade “C-NOTES” is a non-auditioned choir open to all boys and girls in grades 6-8. The choir performs throughout the school year. The Chaminade C-Notes perform at Disneyland each year and traditionally travel on a singing tour each year during Spring Break.

About Autism Care and Treatment (ACT Today!):ACT Today! provides grant money for families that cannot afford or access the treatments their autistic children need. From protective helmets, to social skills groups, to ABA and biomedical treatments, ACT Today! does everything they can to help autistic children achieve their highest potential. Through direct donation, corporate sponsorship and community generosity, ACT Today! is changing the lives of children TODAY. For more information about ACT Today, visit www.act-today.org.

Transcript of News Segment:In a special KTLA investigation we told you about one young California boy whose parents are giving him medical marijuana to treat his autism symptoms.

The response to our report has been overwhelming... so we took this very personal, ground-breaking story straight to the experts.

KTLA's Cher Calvin introduced you to 'Sam,' a ten year-old who lives with his Dad, his Mom, and his sister Lucy in Northern California.

Sam has autism.

His disorder made him so violent and aggressive, his parents Steve and Angela turned to growing medical marijuana, and dosing Sam with it.

"If you think about it, it's the perfect drug for that kind of behavior, very calming," Sam's Mom Angela says.

His Dad Steve turns the cannabis plants into a concentrated form commonly called 'hash,' and gives Sam just a speck, which he eats almost daily.

For Sam's family, the results have been astounding.

"It was like all this anguish, pent-up rage and aggressiveness went away," Steve said. "It just calmed him down."

We showed our KTLA special report to Dr. Doreen Granpeesheh, founder of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders in Tarzana CA. She was not surprised.

"Parents are suffering so much from the behaviors they see in their children, and they're looking for any kind of solution," Dr. Granpeesheh says. "So it's not unexpected to see parents turning to medical marijuana."

Dr. Granpeesheh has studied autistic children for three decades. In recent months she's heard a handful of other success stories much like Sam's.

"I've heard from some parents that they've use medical marijuana and they've found that it reduces aggression, it reduces hyperactivity," Dr. Granpeesheh says. "It will definitely affect the self-stimulatory and repetitive behaviors in autism, so they find their children are much calmer after the use of marijuana."

Still, the doctor warns that we don't yet know enough about cannabis for kids. "My concern with this would be that we don't have any research on the use of medical cannabis with children, and we certainly don't have any safety studies."

Dr. Granpeesheh says there might be a down side to marijuana for autism. "In most cases the use of such things as cannabis will actually reduce your learning ability, and it's very important for children with autism to become more aware -- not just more calm, but more aware. And it might not be possible to do that when you've used cannabis."

But in light of our "Sam's Story" special report, the Center for Autism would fully support more study of the effects of medical marijuana.

"It's certainly a very interesting area," Dr. Granpeesheh concludes, "And we would be interested in doing that research."

It's a fascinating frontier for many parents who've experienced the challenge -- and the heartbreak -- of autism in their children's lives.

The “Randomized Trial of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Children with Autism” study reveals that HBOT, consisting of 24% oxygen delivered at 1.3 atmospheres of pressure, does not have a significant effect on symptoms of autism. This study was led by Doreen Granpeesheh, PhD, BCBA-D; Jonathan Tarbox, PhD, BCBA-D; Dennis R. Dixon, PhD; Arthur E. Wilke; Michael S. Allen, PsyD; and James Jeffrey Bradstreet, MD, MD (H), FAAFP. It is published in the current issue of Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are characterized by the presence of impaired development in social interaction and communication and the presence of a restricted repertoire of activity and interests. While numerous treatments for ASDs have been proposed, very few have been subjected to rigorous scientific investigation. HBOT has been recently popularized as a treatment for the symptoms of ASDs. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that HBOT would have a beneficial effect on ASD symptoms in the context of a double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial compared HBOT used to deliver 24% oxygen at 1.3 atmospheric pressure (n = 18) to placebo (n = 16) in children with Autistic Disorder. Both direct observational measures of behaviors symptomatic of autism and standardized psychological assessments were used to evaluate the effects of the treatment. CARD researchers found no differences between HBOT and placebo groups across any of the outcome measures.

The present study demonstrates that HBOT delivered at 24% oxygen at 1.3 atmospheric pressure does not result in a clinically significant improvement in the symptoms of Autistic Disorder.

Questions regarding this study should be directed to Dr. Jonathan Tarbox, CARD Director of Research at j.tarbox@centerforautism.com or 818.345.2345.

All MEDIA INQUIRIES should be directed to Daphne Plump at (661) 478-6512 or d.plump@centerforautism.com.

About the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Inc. (CARD):

CARD is committed to science as the most objective and reliable approach to evaluating treatment for autism. CARD’s mission is to conduct empirical research on the assessment and treatment of autism and to disseminate CARD’s research findings and derived technology through publication and education of professionals and the public. While the primary focus of CARD’s research is ABA-based methods of assessment and treatment, CARD’s overall approach to research includes any topic which may hold promise for producing information that could improve the lives of individuals with autism.

In addition, CARD maintains a reputation as one of the world’s largest and most experienced organizations effectively treating children with autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, PDD-NOS, and related disorders. Following the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), CARD develops individualized treatment plans for children worldwide. For more information about CARD, visit http://www.centerforautism.com/ .

The Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Inc. (CARD), one of the world’s leading organizations effectively treating children with autism, has published “Comparing Indirect, Descriptive, and Experimental Functional Assessments of Challenging Behavior in Children with Autism” in the latest edition of the Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities. Collaborators on the article include CARD Research Director Dr. Jonathan Tarbox, PhD, BCBA-D, and other members of the research team: Arthur E. Wilke, Dr. Adel C. Najdowski, PhD, BCBA-D, Susie Balasanyan, MA, Amy C. Caveney, MA, Vardui Chilingaryan;, MA, Deidra M. King, MS ED, Sarah M. Niehoff, Kelly Slease, MA, and Betty Tia, MA.

The study compares indirect, descriptive, and experimental functional assessments, across seven children with autism, representing a range of ages and topographies of challenging behavior. Overall, descriptive assessments often did not produce conclusive results, whereas the indirect and experimental assessments generally did. Concurrence across the three types of functional assessments was found in only one case. Implications for clinical and educational practice are discussed.

Current standards of practice in psychological and educational services dictate the need for ascertaining the function of challenging behaviors before treating them and for behavioral interventions to be based on the function of behavior. At least three broad categories of functional assessments have been developed, including indirect, descriptive, and experimental procedures. Although experimental functional analyses are common in empirical research on behavioral intervention, indirect and descriptive functional assessment procedures may be more commonly used in clinical and educational practice. Little previous research has systematically compared indirect, descriptive, and experimental functional assessments in children with autism.

Questions regarding this study should be directed to Dr. Jonathan Tarbox, CARD Director of Research at j.tarbox@centerforautism.com or 818.345.2345.

About the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Inc. (CARD):CARD is committed to science as the most objective and reliable approach to evaluating treatment for autism. CARD’s mission is to conduct empirical research on the assessment and treatment of autism and to disseminate CARD’s research findings and derived technology through publication and education of professionals and the public.

While the primary focus of CARD’s research is ABA‐based methods of assessment and treatment, CARD’s overall approach to research includes any topic which may hold promise for producing information that could improve the lives of individuals with autism. In addition, CARD maintains a reputation as one of the world’s largest and most experienced organizations effectively treating children with autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, PDD‐NOS, and related disorders. Following the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), CARD develops individualized treatment plans for children worldwide. For more information about CARD, visit www.centerforautism.com.